- (1.) THESE cross appeals filed Under Clause 10 of the Letters Patent have arisen In the following manner. Om Parkash, one of the appellants, filed a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution challenging the order of Mr. B. D. Deshmukh, I. R. S. , Collector of the" Central Excise and Land Customs. New Delhi, dated the 25th of August, 1958, by which about 1744 tolas of gold was confiscated Under Section 167 (8) of the Sea Customs Act of 1878 read with Section 19 as made applicable by Section 23-A of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act of 1947 and also a penalty of Rs. 5,000/- was imposed on Om Parish.
(2.) THE case came up for hearing before Dulat J. who held on the strength of the decision of a Division Bench if this Court in Gian Chand v. State of Punjab, Criminal Revn. No. 1566 of 1958, D/- 2-3-1960 (Pirnj), that no penalty in excess of Rs. 1,000/- could be lawfully imposed. He found that Om Parkash had filed an appeal against the order of the Collector before the Central Board of Revenue, which had refused to hear the appeal until the penalty was paid, and in the circumstances he was' of the opinion that Om Parkash should pursue his normal remedy before coming to this Court, the hardship involved in such a course being greatly reduced in consequence of the subsequent reduction which was necessary In the amount of the penalty. He consequently declined to Interfere at that stage and dismissed the petition.
(3.) AGAINST this order appeals have been filed by both the Union of India and the Collector of Customs on the one hand and by Om Parkash on the other, The case of the former is that the imposition of a penalty of Rs. 5,000/- was perfectly legal. The contention of Om Parkash ' Is that this Court ought to have interfered with what was on the face of it a bad order even in spite of holding that the penalty imposed could not exceed Rs. 1,000/ -.;